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Varian
Varian is a Multi-Class Hero from the Warcraft universe. He is both an Assassin and a Warrior, and playing with him counts towards both role's quests. Few would have expected that the gladiator known only as Lo'Gosh was in truth the missing ruler of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn. Now the High King of the Alliance, his every action shapes the destiny of Azeroth itself. Varian extremely versatile Multi-class Hero that can function as a melee Warrior or Assassin, adapting himself to the needs of his team. Background Never one to back down from a difficult task or shy away from the front lines, King Varian Wrynn has always sought to do what he believes is best for his people. Without question, he is eager pick up a sword and shield in defense of the Alliance, Azeroth, and now... The Nexus. There is no opponent too great nor battlefield too harsh to stop Varian from leading those around him toward victory. Great leaders know that a successful conquest requires the flexibility to adapt to any new challenges that may arise on the field of battle. Through talents, Varian can be built to fit several different disciplines and is the first multi-class hero to enter the Nexus. Be the shield your team needs by taunting enemies and soaking tons of damage, or split Shalamayne into its component swords and lead with your blades to cut down any who stand in your way. Gameplay Summary Varian is a multi-class Hero who can be played as either a Warrior or an Assassin. He excels at going personal, pressuring his opponents with multiple slow effects, as well being able to parry Basic Attacks. Ultimately, Varian's flexible playstyle allows him to fit into most team compositions, filling the need of a Tank or DPS depending on the situation. Strengths *Very flexible playstyle. *Has access to his Heroic abilities at level 4. *So far, the only Hero in the Nexus that can play as either a Warrior or as an Assassin. *Good Basic Attack damage regardless of the Heroic ability picked. * provides fantastic peeling, and also heals Varian per enemy hit. * is a fantastic engaging tool, being his main form of mobility for pressuring opponents. * is a great tool against Heroes that rely on Basic Attacks to deal damage, such as The Butcher. **At level 10 he has access to a damage immunity talent in the form of , which makes Parry negate all forms of damage. *Excels at soloing Mercenary and Boss Camps when combining and . * will completely shutdown Shield reliant Heroes, such as Johanna, Zarya and Fenix. *His Heroic Abilties have a low overall cooldown. * is fantastic for taking down specific, high-priority targets. * provides high burst that can melt frail Heroes, such as most Supports. * drastically increases Varian attack speed, which allow him to trade against most Heroes in the game. *Great utility thanks to the Banners talents given at level 16. Weaknesses *No hard crowd control when playing as an Assassin. *Misuse of can be extremely punishing if facing opponents with high Basic Attack damage, if is on cooldown. *Poor waveclear. *Has difficulities with escaping or chasing unless is picked. * has very limited use unless the rest of the team can provide enough crowd control for Varian to unleash his attacks. Abilities Traits Heroic Abilities Talents Tier 1, Hero Level 1 Tier 2, Hero Level 4 Tier 3, Hero Level 7 Tier 4, Hero Level 10 Tier 5, Hero Level 13 Tier 6, Hero Level 16 Tier 7, Hero Level 20 Talent Builds *Protection Build: focused on turning Varian into a reliable tank through , which increases Varian's health and provides him with one of the strongest crowd controls in the game. **This build is mostly recommended when Varian is the only Warrior in the team, but can work well in Double Warrior compositions when it features a Bruiser such as Sonya or Artanis. *Arms Build: focused on turning Varian into an explosive Assassin through , which increases Varian's Basic Attack damage and allows him to burst down his opponents at ease, at the expense of reducing his health. **This build is mostly recommended when the team already features a dedicated tank but lacks damage. *Fury Build: focused on turning Varian into an Assassin with very high sustained damage through , which drastically increases Varian's Attack Speed at the expense of reducing his Basic Attack Damage. A key talent is , which grants him a self-sustain that rivals Illidan's, and allows him to solo Boss Camps. **This build is mostly recommended when the team already features a dedicated tank but lacks damage, although is usually more useful due its burst damage. ***However, can be useful in maps that feature multiple bosses, as Varian can solo Boss Camps easily while the team takes the other one. Tips *Pick for maps that focus heavily on waveclear, such as Tomb of the Spider Queen. *Pick when the team features one or more Heroes that rely on shields, such as Tassadar and Fenix. It works specially well if Varian is talented for Arms ( ). Matchups Pairings Varian has multiple easy to land crowd control Abilities that can allow Chromie’s and to land consistently, such as and Charge. Varian's aggressive playstyle, combined with flexibility in combat, allows him to adjust his talents to suit the best situation for Kel'Thuzad. However, the favorable build is usually Protection, as Taunt is great at securing takedowns, especially given its low cooldown. Varian and Kerrigan together have strong ganking potential, due to them both having point-click engage tools and decent damage. When combined with or at level 10, the combination gets truly terrifying. Malthael is very difficult to kill when enemies aren’t able to focus him, and Varian’s Taunt heroic provides a reliable way to ensure that they can’t. The Armor and amplified Healing bonuses Varian’s Banner can provide also have tremendous synergy with Malthael’s powerful self-healing. If specced as Protection, Varian's Charge and Taunt can effectively pin down opponents, opening opportunities for well a placed from Tyrande. If specced as Arms, Colossus Smash can extend the period of armor reduction if well timed with , allowing the team to quickly dispose of any target. Zagara’s strong lane presence and early game bully potential shores up Varian’s weaker early game. She can provide that early game edge that Varian’s team needs until he can reach level 10 and unlock his full potential. Effective against While all his Talent Builds can pose a threat to The Butcher, if specced as Protection, Varian's Taunt and Parry combined will force The Butcher into switching targets while protecting himself from The Butcher's high damage. In addition, Mortal Strike will also reduce The Butcher's self-sustain with . Regardless of his build, Varian poses a threat to Genji due his Charge, which can give his team enough time to incapacitate Genji. He is even more dangerous if he picks Taunt, resulting on Genji being defenseless. If specced into Twin Blades of Fury and Mortal Strike, Varian can effectively negate Malfurion's healing if he manages to stick on him. Effective foes Since Varian is a melee Assassin that relies primarily on Basic Attacks to deal damage, Li Li has the ability to shut down Varian as he’s charging in by using . Since Varian gains more power at level 10 than most Heroes, Sylvanas’ powerful early game pushes are difficult for Varian to handle. As another good early game pushing Hero, Xul offers Varian troubles towards the beginning of matches. When combined with root and attack speed slows, Varian can be almost completely shut down if he doesn’t pick his fights correctly. Skins ;High King of the Alliance (base) ;Lionheart :The Lion has long been associated with the nation of Stormwind and the House of Wrynn. It is a symbol of courage, dignity and ferocity; truly befitting for the High King. ;Lo'Gosh :After awakening on the shores of Durotar, the gladiator known as Lo'Gosh became a star of the Crimson Ring Arena. Rumor has it that he fights with the fury of the Ghost Wolf himself. :Features themed abilities. ;Commandant NYR :As chief security officer for Volskaya's Nexus operations, Varian Volkov is no stranger to harsh winters and cold steel. Rather than pilot a Svyatogor mech, he prefers to meet his foes face-to-face. :This skin is related to the Overwatch themed-skins. Features themed abilities. Development Varian was conceived within the first two years of the game's development.2016-11-21, BlizzCon 2016 Heroes of the Storm Deep Dive Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2016-11-21 He was listed as a possible hero for Heroes of the Storm as early as 2011.2011-10-23, BlizzCon 2011 - Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm and Blizzard DOTA - Art & Technology Panel (Full). YouTube, accessed on 2011-11-07 As of BlizzCon 2015, he remained under consideration for inclusion.2015-12-28, BlizzCon 2015 Heroes of the Storm Deep Dive Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2016-01-01 He was revealed at BlizzCon 2016. Trivia * Varian's helmet in the "Lionheart" skin is intended to emulate that of Llane Wrynn, as depicted in the Warcraft movie. * Varian is currently the only Multi-Class Hero in the game, as well the only one that can choose Heroic Abilities before Level 10. * Varian's Heroic Abilities represent each one of the specializations of the Warrior Class in World of Warcraft: Protection ( ), Arms ( ) and Fury ( ). Patch changes * * * * * * * * References External links *Artist page for infobox image Category:Heroes Category:Human Category:Warrior Category:Assassin